Football is alive and well at Elmira Notre Dame High School. It just looks a bit different these days.

While their counterparts across the area have already played two conventional 11-player games, the Crusaders get going with the start of a new chapter of football this weekend. Notre Dame will host Lansing at 7 p.m. Friday at Brewer Memorial Stadium in the opener of the eight-man football season.

"They really seem up for it," Notre Dame head coach Mike D'Aloisio said of his team. "They weren't sure at first, but they're really enjoying it now."

Notre Dame and Lansing are two of five teams in Section 4 that have made the transition to eight-man football this season, with Newfield, Oxford and Unadilla Valley the other three. Binghamton Seton Catholic Central had an eight-man team in 2017 but is not fielding any form of varsity football this year.

The reason for the switch comes down to smaller roster sizes. The obvious difference in eight-man football is you need three fewer players on the field at any given time. The game is fundamentally the same, but there are notable differences.

"There’s adjustments on both sides of the ball and on specialty teams, but the biggest adjustment I think is on the defensive side of the ball," D'Aloisio said. "There’s going to be a lot more lock-on, one-on-one coverage. You really have to be solid, outstanding open-field tacklers because it’s more wide open. You’re still playing on a regular field with three less players out there."

Lack of success had nothing to do with Notre Dame making the transition. D'Aloisio has 233 coaching wins in 36 seasons and last year's team finished with a 6-2 record, falling by a 33-14 score to Class D state semifinalist Tioga in the Section 4 Class D quarterfinals.

He's hoping this unit will forge its own identity while also continuing the school's tradition of strong play on the gridiron.

"We want this team to create a legacy for all other eight-man football teams at Notre Dame to shoot for," D'Aloisio said. "If they win every game, they’re never going to get beat by other Notre Dame teams."

Keys to success

In one way, little has changed from D'Aloisio's perspective. He wants a team that is going to limit mental mistakes and turnovers while avoiding turnovers. While tackling well is always a given, a missed tackle in this version of football could quickly turn into a touchdown, so that part of the game takes on added importance.

"It's going to be tough to keep somebody in the middle of the field, so you have to be a good tackler in the interior as well, because if you break that first line of defense, I don't know there's anybody that's going to stop you going straight down the middle of the field," D'Aloisio said.

On the offensive side of the ball, he said players will need to think and adjust quickly, with defensive players closer and faster to the ball and quarterback. The chance to run in space and utilize individual skill make for a more open game.

"I think with eight-man football, it's a faster game," D'Aloisio said. "It showcases individual talents more. It allows you to make more jukes, more moves as a running back and a receiver."

Schedule

Notre Dame's schedule has six-regular season games, with a bye in the third week of the season. The Crusaders play Lansing and Oxford twice, with single games against Newfield and Unadilla Valley. The top two Section 4 teams are scheduled to play in a sectional final the first weekend of November, with the potential for a regional game against Section 3 the following week.